Pneumatic spring-wheel.



A. O. SGHOBLOH.

PNEUMATIC. SPRING WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31', 1914.

1,096,959. Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA I'LANOGRAPM (10.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

A. O. SGHOELOH.

PNEUMATIC SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION TILED JAN. 31, 1914.

1,096,959. Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETBSHEET 2.

J5. 0. Sclwel gwuwwtoz COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPN COUWASHINOTONI DIC- ALBERT O. SCHOELCH, OF SHELBYVILLE, INDIANA.

PNEUMATIC SPRING-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters I'atent.

Patented May 19, 19141..

Application filed January 31, 1914. Serial No. 815,634.

T (/7! IllI/HIL '1' 2, may concern x3e it known that I, ALnnIrr O. Sononnon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Shelbyville, in the county of Shelby and State of Imliana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Spring-lVheels; and I. do hereby declare the follmving to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in vehicle wheels and resides in the provision of a novel form of spring wheel that will permit the use of solid rubber tires in connection therewith and provide the desired resiliency such as obtained with the use of pneumatic tires thus dispensing with punctures and other tire troubios and affording comfort to the occupants of the vehicle.

An important object of my invention is to provide a spring wheel of the character described which consists of a wheel comprising a hub and rim between which are interposed a plurality of springs which serve as spokes, said springs being arranged to coopcrate with a pneumatic tube that is arranged circumferentially of the hub thus providing a great amount of resiliency.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a spring wheel of the character described which is simple as to construc tion, consists of few parts, capable of being readily attached to vehicles of all characters and which is cheap to manufacture.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustra ted in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

lVith reference to the drawings, wherein l have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention as it is reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a portion of my spring wheel in assembled position, Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the spring securing plates.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates as an entirety a hub having a concaved periphery 2 formed in the circmnferential flange 3 which consists of the body portion of the hub, and the numeral t designates a rim having a metallic tire securing band 5 thereon in which is mounted a solid rubber tire 6.

h'lounted within the concaved portion 2 of the rim flange 3 is a circumferential rubber tube 7 which is adapted to be inflated. A circular band 8 is disposed with its concaved face 9 in engagement with the outer portion of the tube 7.

A plurality of flat circular springs 10 are arranged arcuately about the hub 1 between the band 8 and rim 4:. These springs 10 are secured by suitable fastening means 11 at their inner extremities to the circular band 8 upon the outer face thereof, and at their outer extremities are secured by suitable fastening means 12 to U-shaped seems ing plates 13 that are carried upon the inner face of the rim 4. These springs 10 are arranged in spaced relation to each other and are held in such position by means which will be later more fully described.

The springs .10, circular band 8, tube 7 and rim flange 3 are all of preferably the same width and are held in cooperative relation relative to each other by means of side plates 14 and 15. These side plates 1-l and 115 are provided with a central o nming to receive the extended portions of the hub 1 and are mounted upon the hub upon opposite sides thereof with their inner faces in engagement with the tube 7, band 8 and inner extremities of the springs 10. These plates 14- and 15 are preferably of a circular form and are spaced at their peripheries from the inner face of the rim 4. A plurality of bolts 10 are inserted through the central portion of the plates and the hub flange 3 and have nuts 17 turned upon their threaded terminals. These bolts 16 are arranged arcuatcly about the hub and serve to hold the plates securely thereon.

As a means for securing the plates to each other, increasing the efficiency of the springs and spacing the springs from each other, there has been provided between the springs friction rollers 18 of prefe'ably the same lengthas the width of the springs 10. These rollers 18 are formed of some suitable fibrous material preferably, and are mounted for rotation transversely of the plates l-i and 15 upon bolts 19 that are inserted through the plates 14 and 15 adjacent the peripheries thereof and have nuts turned upon their unheaded terminals. The bolts 19 serve to connect the plates 14; and 15 and securely hold them in operative position. The rollers 18 in being arranged in engagement with the springs increase the resilient action thereof and in general add more resiliency to the wheel.

The device may be readily assembled and disassembled as will be clearly seen with reference to the foregoing description and accompanying drawings.

Suitable means may be employed for permitting the inflation of the tube 7 and it is not thought necessary to illustrate this means in this connection.

The combination of the pneumatic tube with the springs enables the construction of a wheel which will provide greater resiliency than is the case with the wooden spoke wheel and at the same time enables the use of solid rubber tires thus eliminating tire trouble.

In constructing the wheel it has been found preferable to use light metal where possible such as aluminum thus maintaining a low weight of the Wheel.

The side plates 14 and 15 serve to hold the mechanism, namely the springs and tube in the proper cooperative relation to each other and prevent any lateral. movement of the rim relative to the hub.

In reduction to practice,I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary,

I desire to emphasize tne fact that various minor changes in details of construction,

proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrithe ring,

ficing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A pneumatic spring wheel comprising a hub, a rim spaced therefrom, a pneumatic tube arranged circumferentially of and upon said hub, a circular band mounted upon the outer face of said tube, a plurality of spaced circular flat springs secured to said band and a pair of side plates secured upon the hub and engaging the tube, band and springs, and rollers arranged between and in engagement with the springs and mounted transversely of and secured to said side plates. 7 2. A pneumatic spring wheel comprising a hub, a rim spaced therefrom, a circular pneumatic tube mounted upon said hub, a circular band mounted upon said tube, a plurality of circular fiat springs secured to the inner face of said rim and outer face of said band, said springs being arranged in spaced relation to each other, means'for holding said springs, band and tube in cooperative relation with each other, and rollers carried by said last named means and ar ranged between and in engagement with said springs.

3. A pneumatic spring wheel comprising a hub, a rim, a pneumatic tube mounted upon said hub, a circular band mounted upon said tube, springs arranged between the band and rim, and secured to said band and the rim, anti-friction means mounted between said springs, and means for holding said springs, band and tube in cooperative relation to each other, mounted upon said hub.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT O. SCHOELCH. Witnesses:

Josnrrr BEYER, J12, DALE E. PHERIGO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

